Arsene Wenger and Per Mertesacker have already admitted that Arsenal were very lucky to beat Crystal Palace yesterday afternoon. The first bit of luck was when the Gunners were awarded a penalty in the 6th minute, and subsequent slow-motion replays showed that the foul was actually committed otside the box.
Crystal Palace actually had more possession and more shots than Arsenal (and MANY MANY more corners, but The Gunners second bit of good fortune came when our second goal was also judged to be offside after the event. We all know the last bit of luck was when the ball hit Ospina’s post in the last minute.
Palace’s manager Alan Pardew made sure everyone was aware of these refereeing errors after the match. “We took a tactical decision to take the game to Arsenal today,” Pardew told Goal after the game. “The first goal is a mistake by Pape [Souare], he should do better, and yet the call is tough on us because it looks like the incident happened outside the box.
“We find ourselves 1-0 down but we continued with the gameplan and I was pleased with the reaction. It’s probably the best we’ve played since I’ve been manager.
“The second goal is offside and that should be made that call.
“I had more of a problem with the second goal than the first – it’s a minute before half-time and you’ve got to get that call right.
“The one that hits the post and goes into the keeper’s hands just summed our day up really, it wasn’t to be.”
Okay well we all know that those decisions could have gone against us on any given day, but to be fair we have had our fair share of bad decisions ourselves this season. It certainly makes change to hear our opponents complaining!